Xbox Nation asked a bona fide soothsayer to read the signs, interpret the stars, and review some of the hottest Xbox games yet to be released. Welcome to Divination Nation.
Will Fable really be the greatesr RPG of all time? Will Halo 2 match the impossibly high standard set by its predecessor? Tired of waiting for these and other titles, Xbox Nation cut to the chase and contacted a real, certified psychic, Tricia Hollenberg from San Francisco?a vessel to the stars, channeler of the cosmos, reader of the chicken entrails?for unfiltered, unbiased predictions for the Xbox games?of the future!

Halo 2 (Bungie/Microsoft)
Synopsis: Master Chief, the genetically enhanced super-badass and rampaging Covenant marauder, is back?with a renewed taste for alien blood. Will he stop the space invaders from destroying Earth, thus paving the way for Halo 3?
Psychic Prediction: Overall, this one looks really good. There seem to be some legal issues surrounding it, though. It'll do well, but not as well as the first. I don't think the ending is very solid. It'll be left open to a third installment but won't live up to players' expectations.

Halo will be better than Doom 3, though. I see a lot of partnerships in the cards. There's something to do with pairs. Perhaps the Covenant will ally itself with someone or something else. Also, there will be an alliance broken. You need to have played the original game in order to really enjoy this one. They've built in something for those who have played the original.

There's something hopeful in this game. And there's a third in the works, but no one knows this yet. You'll enjoy it, but it's not great for any relationships you're in. Players have become more critical of the game since the first one. You might find that you've changed how you deal with things.

Fable (Big Blue Box/Microsoft)
Synopsis: In Lionhead's, highly-anticipated Fable, just as in that special place some humanoids refer to as "real life," your every action impacts how your customized character develops. Grow strong from battle, fat from overeating, tan from sunbathing, and marry your future wife (or husband) in this "groundbreaking" role-playing adventure. Just don't forget to take out the trash.

Psychic Prediction: This is going to be a sensible game, so it won't be terribly popular. There are karmic aspects to it, which is interesting.

It'll be a quite satisfying game that appeals to a wider range of people. This one feels like it'll be popular in other countries. Japan and Europe, in particular. It allows for creativity but is probably too hard to operate?a bit cumbersome.

It needs more refinement. It's harder to work than it needs to be. It's a process-oriented game?players either can't get to the end or get to it too quickly.

B.C. (Intrepid/Microsoft)
Synopsis: Kill the hell out of some dinosaurs, why don't you.? And try to build a civilization with some rocks and sticks while you're at it there, Chumley.

Psychic Prediction: I don't think this one will go over very well. Parents won't be buying it, so it won't be appealing to kids, and it's not sophisticated, so the older set won't be into it, either. That's basically what I see: too politically incorrect for kids and not smart enough for adults. Next?

Psychic Prediction: Sounds too fabulous to be true. It doesn't look bad. It has a cult following, for sure?like the people who watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But this doesn't make it a particularly good game. There will be a lot written about it. People will be discussing it, perhaps even college teachers. This one kind of stands alone like an original because it's got its own genre.

I don't think I'll like it, but it seems to be working. Is it possible that this one has softened from previous versions because they believe their own hype? They could blow it. They might have different people working on it, and the new people are very creative and clever but might miss the point of the game.

Psychic's predicted score: 6/10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doom 3 (Vicarious Visions/Activision)
Synopsis: You're on Mars. Demon aliens have taken over the space station. Kill them all, in the dark, with lots of guns.

Psychic Prediction: This is interesting. Let me see. I expected to find more to do with money and the game to be a big moneymaker. This one is really weird. They may put some tricks in the game to make it more complex and compensate for its...I don't know. There might be some hidden levels or more than one way to get through this game. It seems like there might be a few optional ways to finish it. The review of the game, by the people?it's not going to play out as well as people expected. Maybe there was too much expectation. I predict it will be good but not fabulous. If they've built in some twists, that's good. I don't know if technology has advanced enough. I think maybe the sales will be disappointing.

Psychic's predicted score: 5/10

http://www.xbnmag.com/article2/0,2053,1612421,00.asp

Wouldn't this suck if it were true?:donno:

Reality

06-15-2004, 07:48 PM

OOoOO, gahhh. Man that would be awful.

Vert1

06-15-2004, 07:53 PM

XBOX is doommmedd!:lol: ;)

Escaflowne2001

06-16-2004, 05:26 AM

OMG...

Renegade X

06-16-2004, 07:05 AM

Figures Vert would agree with this guy. I think most of that is BS. it's pure opinion for most of that. What was said about Halo 2 not selling as good as the first... BS I will streak down my streak screaming, Nintendo is God, All Hail Nintendo if Halo 2 doesn't at least AT LEAST matches Halo's sales.

Drunken Savior

06-16-2004, 07:10 AM

Flapdoodle! FLAPDOODLE I SAY!

Vert1

06-16-2004, 01:14 PM

For all you know those games could actually be a dissapointment to the original or just to themselves.It be very funny at least to me.:spinface:

Renegade X

06-16-2004, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by Vert1
For all you know those games could actually be a dissapointment to the original or just to themselves.It be very funny at least to me.:spinface:

Yes, just like Resident Evil 4 could be the most arsebackwards, lovey dovey save the president's daughter from a cult only to have Leon screaming ASHLEYYYYYYYYYYY! when he has another Ada'esk moment.

Drunken Savior

06-16-2004, 10:12 PM

Originally posted by Vert1
For all you know those games could actually be a dissapointment to the original or just to themselves.It be very funny at least to me.:spinface:

Wow, your the worst kind of fanboy, one who gets pleasure out of seeing someone else fail. Jerk. Go challenge a cripple to a race or somethin'

Vert1

06-16-2004, 10:40 PM

None of those games are that great imo.Jade Empire and Half-Life2 will be better on XBOX than those games.RE4 will own.

Renegade X

06-17-2004, 12:44 AM

Originally posted by Drunken Savior
Wow, your the worst kind of fanboy, one who gets pleasure out of seeing someone else fail. Jerk. Go challenge a cripple to a race or somethin'

I'd also like to add to that list of the worst kind of fanboy, the one that has no basis for his opinions about things. RE4 will own because...? I've yet to see you make a viable arguement as to how and why RE4 is going to own. I mean seriously, other than the new camera angel, better graphics, and the dumbed down Shenmue context button mash, it still looks like your run of the mill Resident Evil title? And seriously, it's not the first Resident Evil game to fix the camera problem. Dead Aim already fixed that flaw, of course you wouldn't know that vert because it's a PS2 exclusive. Plus to boot, nobody here actually knows how well RE4's camera really is because... Nobody has played it! It's easy to vouch for Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 because you already know that they are going to use the classic FPS camera, and it's something you just can't improve on that much.

Fable not great? Yeah, maybe if your one of those JRPG lovers that love every set on a linear path for you. For the rest of us... I have little doubt there are going to be good things said about this title.

Halo 2... what can you say thats actually bad about it? It continues the saga of one of the baddest heros in gaming history. To boot, you can go online with all you friends and really cause some carnage. And I'm sorry, but Halo 2 online owns RE4 in my book. Because it adds something that RE games just have never really had.... replay value. And you see there in lies RE4's bottle neck... it really doesn't have any reply value what so ever. Pretty much your gonna finish this game and unless it has different enddings... your gonna play it and wait for RE5 to come out. Fable... it's like KotOR, your gonna play it once then play it again just to see what it would of been like to play with other options. Same with Half Life... your gonna replay it just to see what you could do differently. Halo 2 is just gonna truely own people that have live and it's going to be a XBOX Live Selling title so expect to see a lot more console lovers going online around November 9th. RE4 is there to statisfy fans who have been griping and griping about the horrible camera angel fest that is Resident Evil, I mean, you would of though they could of done all this with the Resident Evil Remake. Seriously... RE4 does look great and the story does intrue me a lot, but put up against other titles that are also just as, if not more, great than it is, RE4 just doesn't come in with the total package.

Vert1

06-17-2004, 01:03 AM

Just because I don't think the game's will be great doesn't mean they won't be good.You people take things to serious.

By the way people have played RE4(demo) and I didn't hear them complaining about controls and camera angles.

Renegade X

06-17-2004, 03:10 AM

Originally posted by Vert1
Just because I don't think the game's will be great doesn't mean they won't be good.You people take things to serious.

By the way people have played RE4(demo) and I didn't hear them complaining about controls and camera angles.

Yes, notice the keyword her, By the way people have.... you know, I haven't heard anything bad about halo 2, in fact as you can see it was good enough to win some awards this year. Some awards that go beyond just being, Best of Show XBOX.

Can RE4 say that? Nope, at least not from what I've seen so far... oh and please... don't even both posting links to nintendo oriented sites Vert, it will just make you look so silly.

Dr. Bombay

06-17-2004, 09:41 PM

Ms. Cleo is in prison for a reason.

She can't play halo worth a damn.

DeathStroke

06-18-2004, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by Renegade X
Yes, notice the keyword her, By the way people have.... you know, I haven't heard anything bad about halo 2, in fact as you can see it was good enough to win some awards this year. Some awards that go beyond just being, Best of Show XBOX.

Can RE4 say that? Nope, at least not from what I've seen so far... oh and please... don't even both posting links to nintendo oriented sites Vert, it will just make you look so silly.

Well, X-play gave RE4 the best of E3 award.

TheHardware

06-18-2004, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by Renegade X
Yes, just like Resident Evil 4 could be the most arsebackwards, lovey dovey save the president's daughter from a cult only to have Leon screaming ASHLEYYYYYYYYYYY! when he has another Ada'esk moment.

LMFAO

Originally posted by Drunken Savior
Wow, your the worst kind of fanboy, one who gets pleasure out of seeing someone else fail. Jerk. Go challenge a cripple to a race or somethin'

hammer meet nail

Originally posted by Renegade X
I'd also like to add to that list of the worst kind of fanboy, the one that has no basis for his opinions about things. RE4 will own because...? I've yet to see you make a viable arguement as to how and why RE4 is going to own. I mean seriously, other than the new camera angel, better graphics, and the dumbed down Shenmue context button mash, it still looks like your run of the mill Resident Evil title? And seriously, it's not the first Resident Evil game to fix the camera problem. Dead Aim already fixed that flaw, of course you wouldn't know that vert because it's a PS2 exclusive. Plus to boot, nobody here actually knows how well RE4's camera really is because... Nobody has played it! It's easy to vouch for Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 because you already know that they are going to use the classic FPS camera, and it's something you just can't improve on that much.

Fable not great? Yeah, maybe if your one of those JRPG lovers that love every set on a linear path for you. For the rest of us... I have little doubt there are going to be good things said about this title.

Halo 2... what can you say thats actually bad about it? It continues the saga of one of the baddest heros in gaming history. To boot, you can go online with all you friends and really cause some carnage. And I'm sorry, but Halo 2 online owns RE4 in my book. Because it adds something that RE games just have never really had.... replay value. And you see there in lies RE4's bottle neck... it really doesn't have any reply value what so ever. Pretty much your gonna finish this game and unless it has different enddings... your gonna play it and wait for RE5 to come out. Fable... it's like KotOR, your gonna play it once then play it again just to see what it would of been like to play with other options. Same with Half Life... your gonna replay it just to see what you could do differently. Halo 2 is just gonna truely own people that have live and it's going to be a XBOX Live Selling title so expect to see a lot more console lovers going online around November 9th. RE4 is there to statisfy fans who have been griping and griping about the horrible camera angel fest that is Resident Evil, I mean, you would of though they could of done all this with the Resident Evil Remake. Seriously... RE4 does look great and the story does intrue me a lot, but put up against other titles that are also just as, if not more, great than it is, RE4 just doesn't come in with the total package.

PWned

Originally posted by Renegade X
Yes, notice the keyword her, By the way people have.... you know, I haven't heard anything bad about halo 2, in fact as you can see it was good enough to win some awards this year. Some awards that go beyond just being, Best of Show XBOX.

Can RE4 say that? Nope, at least not from what I've seen so far... oh and please... don't even both posting links to nintendo oriented sites Vert, it will just make you look so silly.

PWned again

Renegade X

06-18-2004, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by DeathStroke
Well, X-play gave RE4 the best of E3 award.

True, thats because they don't allow press only showings of a game's demo in the running.

Icarus4578

06-19-2004, 05:55 AM

Drunken Savior ~ "Flapdoodle! FLAPDOODLE I SAY!"

No argument here.

Vert1 ~ "For all you know those games could actually be a dissapointment to the original or just to themselves.It be very funny at least to me."

And so could some of the future GC releases, but that's just me.

Renegade X ~ "I've yet to see you make a viable arguement as to how and why RE4 is going to own. I mean seriously, other than the new camera angel, better graphics, and the dumbed down Shenmue context button mash, it still looks like your run of the mill Resident Evil title?"

I can make an argument for RE4 that's no less valid than what you could produce for Halo 2.

~ "It's easy to vouch for Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 because you already know that they are going to use the classic FPS camera, and it's something you just can't improve on that much."

But have you played either one of them yourself? In what way does the gameplay improve in those two titles that's significantly better than whatever improvements Capcom may have in store with RE4? How do you know? Explain.

~ "I mean seriously, other than the new camera angel, better graphics, and the dumbed down Shenmue context button mash, it still looks like your run of the mill Resident Evil title?"

Halo 2 looks like your run of the mill FPS title, yet I don't see you bitching about that.

~ "Halo 2... what can you say thats actually bad about it?"

If its predecessor is anything to go on, I'd say just about everything is bad about it. That's just my opinion though.

~ "It continues the saga of one of the baddest heros in gaming history."

You mean "one of the cheesiest", don't you? What, why is Master Chief so bad-ass? Because he can snarl a corny one-liner every so often? Big freakin' deal. I'd say that the Belmonts are far more bas-ass than MC will ever be.

~ "And I'm sorry, but Halo 2 online owns RE4 in my book. Because it adds something that RE games just have never really had.... replay value."

Yeah, but you just said ~ "Plus to boot, nobody here actually knows how well RE4's camera really is because... Nobody has played it!", nor can you explain how well it plays since, as you pointed out, nobody has played it! The first and second RE had tons of replay in my book. I couldn't stand more than four stages of Halo before I fell asleep.

~ "And you see there in lies RE4's bottle neck... it really doesn't have any reply value what so ever. Pretty much your gonna finish this game and unless it has different enddings... your gonna play it and wait for RE5 to come out."

How do you know? Did you play it? And who can say that it has no replay if it only has one or two endings? If that's the case then, man, you should be RANKING Halo for only having ONE ENDING. Apparently, you base replay value off of how many endings a game offers. So be it. Most of us gamers prefer actual fun gameplay to the amount of endings.

~ "RE4 is there to statisfy fans who have been griping and griping about the horrible camera angel fest that is Resident Evil, I mean, you would of though they could of done all this with the Resident Evil Remake. Seriously... RE4 does look great and the story does intrue me a lot, but put up against other titles that are also just as, if not more, great than it is, RE4 just doesn't come in with the total package."

There's the second time you've written "camera angel". I don't think RE games have a horrible camera angle so much as they have awkward controls, but, even so, I've gotten them down by now. BTW, how do you know that RE4 isn't the 'total package'? What facts support your claims?

~ "you know, I haven't heard anything bad about halo 2, in fact as you can see it was good enough to win some awards this year. Some awards that go beyond just being, Best of Show XBOX."

Because most of the game media are a bunch of sellouts that want the gaming industry to subside into mundane territory in which zero creativity is the norm of the day and technical wows are what matters most. Halo 2 is just another FPS. From what I've seen, RE4 looks to KILL Halo 2 as far as gameplay additions and creative ideas are concerned. But of course what does that matter anyway? It's no small wonder that we don't get real games like Secret of Mana and not just genre-filler like Halo. Let it receive a thousand rewards --- it's just another FPS that offers NOTHING new. That, I am certain of.

~ "Can RE4 say that? Nope, at least not from what I've seen so far..."

Because you people judge things based on graphics and not gameplay. That's very apparent from how easily you condemn RE4 and then go on to praise Halo 2 for being the thousandth FPS.

DeathStroke ~ "Well, X-play gave RE4 the best of E3 award."

Interesting.

Renegade X ~ "True, thats because they don't allow press only showings of a game's demo in the running."

More blatant fanboyism at work. It figures.

Renegade X

06-19-2004, 12:57 PM

Originally posted by Icarus4578

DeathStroke ~ "Well, X-play gave RE4 the best of E3 award."

Interesting.

Renegade X ~ "True, thats because they don't allow press only showings of a game's demo in the running."

But I do have something to say on the last part. Theres nothing fanboyish about that statement... it's true, XPlay didn't even have Halo 2 listed as one of the XBOX's best titles all because, it has to be playable by the public, if you have the means to watch XPlay, you'd know that in order to be in their running you:

Have to show the game to the public.

The Game must be in Playable form.

I'm not making an excuse I'm just telling the truth, heck if you don't believe me I'm sure you could go to www.g4techtv.com and find the xplay part and see for yourself.

DeathStroke

06-19-2004, 09:44 PM

Well, you tried the same justification for Gamespy and they ended up putting DOA: Ultimate on despite the fact that the game wasn't playable.

Maybe they just weren't impressed with Halo 2.

Renegade X

06-20-2004, 03:28 AM

Originally posted by DeathStroke
Well, you tried the same justification for Gamespy and they ended up putting DOA: Ultimate on despite the fact that the game wasn't playable.

Maybe they just weren't impressed with Halo 2.

If you wanna debate this point in another thread, fine. The fact is X-Play did require games to be shown and playable on the show floor. Halo 2 wasn't, it was exclusively behind doors and press only.

Anyways, moving on.

redmask

06-20-2004, 04:45 AM

Originally posted by Renegade X
If you wanna debate this point in another thread, fine. The fact is X-Play did require games to be shown and playable on the show floor. Halo 2 wasn't, it was exclusively behind doors and press only.

just because you like halo doesn't mean everyone like it

Renegade X

06-20-2004, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by redmask
just because you like halo doesn't mean everyone like it

If you'll notice very closely, it sez and I quote from under the Top Features section, "Tune in as we bring you the Best of E3 2004. We award the best games from the show floor."

As we all know... Halo 2 wasn't on the show floor, it was behind closed doors. So... anybody else care to argue this anymore, put up a new thread about it. And No, the reason I'm not arguing this anymore is no because I know not everybody liked it, I'd rather not get banned for taking a thread off topic.

How about you watch the show instead of posting one liners about something you know nothing about. :D Because it's obvious to me, that you haven't watched the show which gives a little more info about their picks for E3. So, hopefully over my vacation they'll replay the show, you'll watch it... and then realize that I was right, you where wrong, and we can move on.

DeathStroke

06-21-2004, 05:35 PM

No no, I'm pretty comfortable with my one liners. :D

DBJAY

06-21-2004, 05:50 PM

I would not use Xplay as a basis for any sort of arguement for or against a subject. Among the many things that the do wrong, is that they routinely review games and leave out which platforms they are being played on. They rarely demonstrate, or even mention, console specific features of each game released. They are so timid about mentioning specific console version features, to a casual watcher, it looks like there are no differences!

The graphics for the review, where they show the platforms that the game is being released on, only shows one console "logo". Therefore, to a casual viewer, you would think Harry Potter was only on the PS2, instead of on all three consoles, and pc. To make matters worse, if the game is a third party garbage title, they will only show the Xbox logo, even though the game is equally crap on all three platforms. To a casual watcher, after a few weeks, they will have an impression that the majority of the Xbox library is mediocre. When in truth, these below average games are inflicited on all the consoles.

I'm not sure if they are intentionally creating this impression, or if they are just too lazy to put on three console logos on the screen at once.

Also, if you watch the show, they typically have Nintendo vision. That's where a game that is on the GC is automatically better just because it's on the GC. One of my favorite double standards, is that they knock games on Xbox that do not support live, but give a pass to GC games that also feature no online features.

AbandonwareGirl

06-22-2004, 10:33 PM

I will say this once... and only once.. because I know i'll get flamed for it...
HALO was a VERY crappy game!

YES! you heard correctly! I've played both single player AND multiplayer and I have to say.. frickin DAIKATANA was more fun and looked a LOT better then HALO...

I found myself constanlly bored of halo's same old, same old, same old....
Nothing was interesting
the levels were boring, simplistic pieces of crap...
the main character SUCKS.... dante from Devil May Cry is a lot cooler then "Master Chief".. OOOOOO.. woopie-frickin-doo.... BORING
The weapons just SUCKED...
Everything about HALO was just.. cookie-cutter!

HALO sucks. Simple.

Don't try to argue with me, because I'm not going to reduce myself to a fanboy.. or in my case.. fangirl... and argue with anyone about this... Reason: This is a forum... and arguing on the internet is a lot like entering the special olympics: even if you win, you're still a retard.

Now, DooM 3 looks VERY promising.... it's amazing to see what they can do with DooM 3 on a X-Box..and Halo 2 looks like CRAP... I don't know why nobody sees this...

TheHardware

06-22-2004, 10:36 PM

Originally posted by AbandonwareGirl
I will say this once... and only once.. because I know i'll get flamed for it...
HALO was a VERY crappy game!

YES! you heard correctly! I've played both single player AND multiplayer and I have to say.. frickin DAIKATANA was more fun and looked a LOT better then HALO...

I found myself constanlly bored of halo's same old, same old, same old....
Nothing was interesting
the levels were boring, simplistic pieces of crap...
the main character SUCKS.... dante from Devil May Cry is a lot cooler then "Master Chief".. OOOOOO.. woopie-frickin-doo.... BORING
The weapons just SUCKED...
Everything about HALO was just.. cookie-cutter!

HALO sucks. Simple.

Don't try to argue with me, because I'm not going to reduce myself to a fanboy.. or in my case.. fangirl... and argue with anyone about this... Reason: This is a forum... and arguing on the internet is a lot like entering the special olympics: even if you win, you're still a retard.